St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-11-06

- The real estate market has undergone
9no important change since last week.
!. The Volume of business is only mOder
ate, With prices unchanged and firm.
The steadiness of prices and the firmesS
with which all realty is held surprise
every one, in view of the quietness of
the market. During the past year or
two people have been buying very free
ly, of course with view of securing an
advance on their investment. Owing to
the tightnesS of the money market few
months ago the sale of realty has been
very much curtailed, and consequently
the expected advance has not been re-
allied, and the property upon which
one payment was made with the eXpec-
tation of selling before the next pay
ment became due still remains in the
hands of the purchaser.
AZ
This condition of affairs, it would ma
turally be thought, would cause such
purchasers to rush into market with
their property and to offer it at sacri-
flee. This, however, is not the result at
ALL 1t is very seldom that property is
offered in the market at less than its
value judged by other property of the
same kind similarly situated. Though
there is not that demand for realty that
there has been for the last two or three
years, the financial condition of the peO-
pie is such that they are not forced to
dispose of their property at loss. II
they cannot sell they can hold, and this
is just what causes the market here to
be so firm, for while there is no special
demand for realty the people that own
any can afford to hold it, even though it
yields no income and produces no i'm
mediate profit.
, There is no great demand for realty
now, unless it be for good, desirable
business property. This is salable at
the very highaSt prices. This is shown
in the recent sale of the property put on
the market by the executors of the Da-
wilson estate. One hundred feet on
Wabasha street sold at $1,000 per front
foot, and the same number of feet on
the corner of Robert and Fifth streets
brought over 81, 100 per front foot. Both
were cash sales. Those prices are
greatly below the prices for property
similarly located in other cities. In
Kansas City the price would have been
good deal more than double for the
same class, but while this is so it is
the highest price for which realty has
ever been sold in st. Paul.
realty is dull generally, gOad real estate
favOrably located in st. Paul will bring
good prices and need not go begging for
purchasers. This is really the condition
of the real estate market here at the
present time, and it is solid and deSir-
able one. A visitation of graSShOpperS.
such as we had eight years ago, or some
other. great calamity may befall the
state land destroy values, but he who
thinks that the price of real estate in st.
Paul, lin the ordinary course of events,
will be generally lower than it is at
present, will have good cause for chang
ing his opinion.
The report comes forth that some one
with no end of money is buying up all
the real estate on the fats in West st.
Paul that he can get hold of. The pur-
chases are all made with the utmost Sc
crecy, and after the deal is made and
fully completed the deeds are all kept
out of sight and no one is able to find
out anything about any of the purchases.
1t is also reported that no time payments
are asked for, and that cash is paid for
everything. 1t is one of the most re-
markable real estate stories that has
been put af1Oat in st. Paul, and every
body is wondering what it all means.
A thousand theories have been cOnjured
up in regard to it, but no one has yet
been able to explain it.
~
The opera house scheme that not long
ago was so rosy has not yet come to
focus, and, though there are many prom
ises as to what is to be done, none of
them are fulfilled. Mr.. McMurran, who
was reported to have gone to Richmond,
Va TO arrange matters pertaining to
the Grand, with Gen. FitZhugh Lee, has
not returned. Consequently no report
has been obtained from him and moth
ing more is known of what is to be done
than was known before he went away
from st. Paul. There are a great variety
of opinions as to whether or not we
need another theater at the present
time, and a good many think they can
make satisfactory argument against
constructing one at present. Some very
excellent sites have been selected for
the new structure, but the latter does
not materialize. Mr.. Haverly is still in
st, Paul awaiting results.